The Bow Tie Gang [Paperback]

Benjamin Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2002

When seventeen year-old Wil discovers his girlfriend Katherine is pregnant, he thinks his world is about to end. It's only a week before his graduation from high school, and he's still running around with a hot rod gang of small-town black Irish kids known as the Bow Ties. He sees his sudden collision with responsibility as a premature banishment into family life banality. When Wil discovers Kat's wealthy father facilitated an illegal abortion, he is relieved. Momentarily. It isn't long before guilt and confusion engulf him, threatening to sever the bond between his post-pubescent soul and his sanity. Set before the hot rod culture of Northern California in 1961, Wil, and the rest of the gang, are forced to cope with love, lust, death, betrayal, madness, and teenage sex already devoid of its innocence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Reed grew up in Alameda, California, where he first started work on The Bow Tie Gang. His work has appeared in Mobius and The Blue Mesa Review, and online at SlowTrains, Gloss, and Word Riot. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (December 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595260667
• ISBN-13: 978-0595260669
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,811,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Reed Understands the idea of Overriding Concept, November 27, 2005

By 

Craig Mccullough "most reviews are weak" (The Nation of Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bow Tie Gang (Paperback)

What Ben Reed writes here is a story about how a person must come to grips with who they actually are. Normally, this is done from the top down (president figures out he's really a criminal, criminal figures out he's really a machine, blah-blah-blah). The protagonist is normally in a position of authority and relative access, only to learn that they never really deserved it to begin with and it gets taken away.

Clap, clap. Clap.

Ben's story moves in the reverse. He uses two weeks in the life of a kid who just got out of high school, who wants to stay with his beloved racing gang (none of the other members will ever amount to much), remain with his loose-legged girlfriend (who goes wherever the attention is thickest), and remain for the rest of his days on the unimaginably small island of Alameda, south of San Fran. The character really does think that they want to live that way forever.

But his environment and circumstance fix that for him. Through several eureka moments, he realizes that he was just fooling himself, and that he was traveling the easy path for no good reason. And he decides to trade up in a very believable way. He uses solid descriptions and well structured prose to lead the reader through. Even if you don't see the overriding concept of this story, you will be entertained by the characters and the plot that is handed to you. A great first novel for what will be a writer worth watching.

But that's just my humble opinion.

This story will hold water many, many years to come. Your kids could read it and understand (if they're the "reading comprehension" type). The man could use a little copy editing though.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have nothing better to do than read this!, April 4, 2003

By 

Rev. Sprocket (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bow Tie Gang (Paperback)

I was just blown away. Though I've never really been that interested in drag-racing culture, California, or the fifties, I thoroughly loved this book! I don't remember the last time I came across something so profound that kept a sense of beauty as well as one of humor. I laughed out loud so hard that I had to put the book down easily a dozen times. Anyone who doesn't read this book, is deluding themselves into thinking they could actually do something better with their time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I loved it., March 7, 2005

By 

R. Briley "Grand tactician" (Austin, Tx) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bow Tie Gang (Paperback)

As a man who loves all things SF, this book captures with tactician skill the nuances of post WWII SF youth/outlaw culture. Quick, go go read as well. Reminds me of Fante if that works for you. Highly recommended.